


A Truth Universally Acknowledged

by Kacka



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-14
Updated: 2016-01-14
Packaged: 2018-05-13 23:08:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5720467
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kacka/pseuds/Kacka
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bellamy's campaign manager thinks he'll appeal to more voters if he's married. Clarke is a fixer for politicians and public figures, and she's never received a request quite like this before.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Truth Universally Acknowledged

**Author's Note:**

> Title from the opening line of Pride & Prejudice: "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”

“You need a what?”

Clarke is used to receiving strange requests from her clients. It’s part of her job, as a fixer for politicians and public figures. She’s had to retrieve plenty of objects that are incriminating for a client in one manner or another, had to orchestrate plenty of opportunities for clients to demonstrate something about their character. But she’s not sure this request is technically within her job description.

“A wife,” Blake says, sitting too straight in his chair. Clarke had him pegged as uncomfortable from the moment he walked in the door.

It’s not like she’s never heard of Bellamy Blake. Part of her job is knowing who’s who in certain circles. He’s stubborn and idealistic and a bit of a hothead, all of which play into his underdog story– coming from nothing, rising through the ranks of local and state government, working toward a seat in Congress. Her mother’s seat, to be specific.

At first, she’d attributed his discomfort to her profession. Every now and then she’ll get a client with strong morals who worries that her methods are too underhanded and will besmirch their good name. She was fully prepared to give him a verbal thrashing on the subject, but now she thinks he’s uncomfortable asking for–

“A wife,” she repeats, looking him up and down. He cuts a striking figure in his crisp dress shirt and slacks, his hair a little too gelled for her taste but hardly hindering his natural good looks. She’s not sure why he’d need anyone’s help finding a woman. “That’s not really my area of expertise, Mr. Blake. I’m a fixer, not a matchmaker.”

“Bellamy,” he corrects her, deflating into his chair a little. “I knew it was a long shot. I’m here because my campaign manager suggested it.”

“Oh?”

“Jasper Jordan. I think you went to college with him?”

“This is Jasper’s idea? It’s all making a little bit more sense now,” she says, smirking. He and his roommate, Monty, had lived on her hall in their freshman dorm and they’d become fast friends. “Why does he think you need a wife?”

“I assume this is all information that will be kept confidential?”

“You’re not really a client yet, but sure. Nothing leaves this office.”

“I want to be President one day,” he says candidly. “I’ve been kind of single-mindedly focused on raising my sister, getting her through college, and then on my career, so I never really managed to date much. Now I’m enough of a public figure that any kind of scandal could hurt my career. Jasper thinks a wife would make me more appealing to some demographics, help me win an election, blah blah.” He waves his hand, and Jasper’s comments, away, frowning. “I always thought I’d find someone, but I don’t really know how or where. Jasper suggested I check with you, see if you’d be willing to help me check into potential candidates, keep it quiet, that sort of thing.”

“So this is just for getting voters on your side?”

“Not totally,” he says, uncomfortable again. “My sister Octavia is an adult with her own life now. I miss having someone to come home to, someone I know is on my side. Family. Most of my friends are on my campaign, and the fact that I’m paying them just makes it… different.” 

“I get that,” Clarke nods, thinking it over. She likes Bellamy on an instinctual level that she’s learned not to question. He’s been open with her, he seems to know what he’s about, and he’s even a little awkward, which is a far cry from his media presence: poised, but passionate. 

“So,” she says, coming around her desk and leaning against it. She’s learned that proximity to a pretty girl in a skirt (even if it is knee-length) unnerves some people, and she’s curious how he’ll react. It’s important, she reasons, to know how he reacts to women if she’s going to help him find one. “What’s your type?”

“My type?” He’s smirking and leaning back in his chair, more at ease now than he was initially. “Does this mean you’re taking me on as a client?” 

“It means I’ll see if there’s anything I can do,” she nods, crossing her arms. “You’ll need someone with passable people skills, who’s good under pressure and in a spotlight, but all that can be taught, to some extent. My only non-negotiables at this stage are that her political ideology is compatible with yours, and that she can be discreet. So before I start compiling my list, I need to know what’s non-negotiable for you.”

He runs a hand through his hair, loosening it up a bit. Clarke gets the sudden urge to reach out and mess it up more. 

“I don’t know,” he says honestly. “I like people who are smart. I usually get along with people who argue with me a little.” He grins. “Or a lot. Jasper’s a little afraid of me, but he’s also convinced he knows the right way to do things and that tends to trump his fear.”

“He was always a little afraid of me too,” Clarke says, smiling. “Is that it? Any preferences when it comes to looks? Hair color? Height? Body type?” 

Bellamy laughs and shakes his head. “I’ll leave that up to you.”

He emails her his schedule and they decide to meet again the following week, once she’s gotten a chance to comb through her contacts. She’s not surprised by how easy this part is; knowing the right people is definitely in her job description.

When she hands him a stack of files, he’s a little flabbergasted. 

“These are the women who fit your criteria? How did you find them all?”

 “I emailed a bunch of people a political survey, offering the opportunity to win a gift card,” she shrugs. “It wasn’t a huge incentive, so those who didn’t answer probably aren’t that interested in politics. I asked a few basic questions about their gender, age, marital status, then compared their stances on different issues to yours.” 

“And these are the women were left after all that?” 

“More,” Clarke grins, propping her feet up on the table. “I also ran background checks and looked into their social media accounts as much as I could. If they didn’t have their settings on Private, I moved them to the bottom of the pile.” She picks at a thread hanging off her skirt before continuing. “I also asked Octavia what she thinks your type is, and used her parameters to narrow it down a little further.”

“What were her parameters?” He looks nervous now, and Clarke can’t quite put her finger on why.

“Tall, thin, brunettes. Loyal.” She grins. “Feisty.”

Bellamy shakes his head.

“You’re terrifyingly competent at your job,” he says, flicking through the files. “How did you get started doing this?”

It’s not a story Clarke shares often, but Bellamy is a friend of a friend, he’s been embarrassingly honest with her, and she’s not sure he knows who her mother is, so she decides to tell him.

“I’m sure you know Senator Griffin– my mother– has had her share of scandals. Most of them happened while I was in high school, and I just remember watching her campaign manager and PR person handle the situation, and feeling like they had it all under control. I didn’t feel like much was under my control during that time, so I just kind of… wanted to be like them.”

“Senator Griffin is your mother?”

“Yeah,” she shrugs. “But don’t get weird about it. I don’t tell her about my clients, and honestly, I was planning to vote for you anyway.”

He smiles at her, but that fades when he glances back at the files in his lap.

“Where do I even start?”

Clarke reaches over and opens the file on top.

“Harper Bennett.”

For weeks, Bellamy systematically works through Clarke’s list. He and Harper have little in the way of common interests, as it turns out. Roma is not actually that into politics, just figured the survey was an easy way to win a gift card. Echo isn’t interested in anything serious. Fox is getting ready to move to another country. Maya is too meek, but used to know Jasper and Bellamy is more than happy to reconnect the two.

After each failed date, he ends up on the couch in Clarke’s office under the pretense of combing through the files. She can’t get it out of her mind, what he said about wanting to have someone on his side to come home to, and she wonders if that’s what’s really driving him to seek her out.

She definitely considers him a friend at this point, and as her stack dwindles, he stays longer after his dates and they talk less about finding him a wife and more about themselves. But he keeps going on the dates and she’s wondering how she’ll go about finding women who are more right for him.

Octavia mostly laughed at her last time they spoke on the phone, so she calls Jasper instead.

After exchanging pleasantries, she gets down to business, explaining her problem with Bellamy.

“None of the women I’ve set him up with have been quite right, so I was wondering if you could give me more criteria that might narrow my scope.”

“What are you talking about?” Jasper asks, confused.

“Didn’t you refer him to me? To help find him a woman?”

There’s a long pause on the other end of the line, and then Jasper bursts out laughing. 

“Is that what he thought? Sorry, Clarke. I guess he didn’t really understand what I was saying. I sent him to you to ask you out, because I thought the two of you would be good together. I was trying to set you guys up.” 

“You were trying to set me up with Bellamy?” Clarke asks, freezing. It’s not like she doesn’t like Bellamy, doesn’t agree with him on most issues, doesn’t think he’s incredibly attractive. “Huh.”

“Yeah. Do what you want with that information. I’ve got to run, but if you decide you’re not the one for Blake, give me a call in a couple of days and I’ll try to think of some more criteria.”

“Thanks, Jasper.”

She’s just hung up when she catches a glimpse of movement from the corner of her eye. She whirls around to find Bellamy standing in the doorway, looking a little shell-shocked and holding a doggie bag.

“How long have you been standing there?” She asks. He steps into the room cautiously.

“Basically the whole time.” He scratches the back of his head, sheepish. “I didn’t realize– I mean, I don’t–”

“No, it’s fine,” she says, feeling her stomach sink. He’s not interested. “Jasper’s fault.”

“Right.” There’s an awkward silence, and then he says, “I think I’ve figured out some more criteria, if that would be helpful for you.”

“Oh. Yeah. Shoot.”

“Well, I’ve found out I want a woman who is good in a crisis. She’ll have to have a snarky sense of humor, to really enjoy mine. It would be good if we had some mutual friends.” He steps toward her, closing the distance between them, and he’s wearing a soft smile now. A nervous one. “She’s probably good at reading people. Creative. Clever. On the shorter side, with blonde hair and blue eyes…”

Clarke grins and reaches out to catch him by the lapels and tug him in. He kisses her slow and sweet, like they’ve got all the time in the world.

“I’ll keep an eye out for someone like that,” she says, voice a little husky, when he moves to trail kisses down her jaw. She feels him smile against her skin.

“Don’t bother,” he whispers. “I think I’ve found what I’m looking for.”


End file.
